Hed Chef: Trio egg spinach from fresh produce
Trio egg spinach
Thrill your dinner guests with this classic favourite of spinach cooked with three types of eggs.
It is a restaurant-style dish that you can easily replicate and serve up this festive season.
Better still, it features locally farmed produce that you can easily get at the supermarket.
Look out for the red Love Homegrown Produce label or country of origin when you are grocery shopping.
I used two 220g packets of locally grown round spinach from Kok Fah Technology Farm. This produces a dish that can serve four to five guests.
I also used an organic selenium fresh egg produced by Chew’s Agriculture.
If you appreciate cooking with fresh ingredients, local produce makes a great choice because it takes a shorter time to get from farm to shelf.
All three local poultry farms — Seng Choon Farm, Chew’s Agriculture and N&N Agriculture — are registered under the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority’s Singapore Quality Egg Scheme (SQES).
Look for the SQES logo on egg cartons as it is a mark of quality and freshness.
INGREDIENTS
1 salted egg
1 century egg
1 locally farmed egg
1.2 litres of water
1 tbsp cooking oil for the boiling water
Pinch of salt for the boiling water
440g locally grown round spinach, leaves and stems separated
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
120ml chicken stock
1 tbsp of wolfberries, rinsed
1 tsp of cornflour mixed with 1 tsp water
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
A pinch of salt
Dash of white pepper
METHOD
1. Boil the salted egg for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Peel and separate the egg yolk from the white. Coarsely chop the salted egg white. Lightly mash the salted egg yolk with a fork. Set aside.
2. Peel and slice the century egg.
3. Beat the locally farmed egg. Set aside.
4. Pour the 1.2 litres of water into a pot and bring to a boil.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and a pinch of salt into the water.
6. Blanch the spinach stems for 2 minutes followed by the leaves for 1½ minutes.
7. Drain and place blanched spinach in deep serving dish.
8. In a deep pan or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.
9. Fry the chopped garlic until fragrant. Lower the heat. Add the salted egg yolk.
10. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
11. Add the salted egg white and century egg.
12. Add the wolfberries.
13. Stir in the beaten locally farmed egg.
14. Stir in the cornflour mixture.
15. Add the Chinese cooking wine. Bring to a simmering boil.
16. Season with a pinch of salt and add a dash of white pepper.
17. Serve immediately.
Opt for locally grown produce
Our local vegetable farms tap on technology to produce a variety of leafy greens from spinach to even mizuna.
Buying and eating locally grown produce supports our economy and builds better food supply resilience.
When buying vegetables, select those with crisp fresh leaves, and buy only what you can consume within a few days.
Place the vegetables at the top of your grocery bags to prevent bruising.
Remove any soil off the vegetables and pack them in plastic bags or containers before storing them in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator.
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